‘Black Friday’ Deals Losing Allure For Shoppers

CHICAGO (CBS) — Shoppers will be cautious with their dollars this holiday season and are less likely to rush to door-buster sales on “Black Friday,” according to a new analysis.

Nearly 9 in 10 shoppers plan to spend the same or less this season. And fewer will be hitting the stores on the Friday after Thanksgiving–44 percent, compared with 47 percent in 2010 and 52 percent in 2009.

“Black Friday” is traditionally one of the biggest sales days for retailers, but fewer shoppers feel that they have to rush to the store to get a great deal, according to the study by Accenture.

Indeed, a third of shoppers say they will wait until December to shop because they believe companies will still be offering good deals in a weak economy.

One quarter of shoppers plan to have a ‘thrifty” holiday season and one in five admit that they will be “focused on necessities.” Just 6 percent admit to planning “extravagant” or “unrestrained” holiday spending, the study found.

Apparel (54 percent), toys (36 percent) and gift cards (57 percent) will be at the top of holiday shopping lists this year. The survey also indicated an upwards shift in the value of gift cards purchased this year: 12 percent indicated that they would spend more than $75 on each gift card (6 percent in 2010).

The research showed no significant change in the number of consumers shopping online (66 percent vs. 69 percent in 2010). Of that group, the number of shoppers expecting to buy more than half of their holiday gifts online rose significantly to 59 percent from 41 percent in 2010.

Free shipping (74 percent) and finding better discounts (60 percent) are still the biggest incentives to spending online, while close to half of consumers (47 percent) simply wanted to avoid the crowds.